The following U.S. patents are directed to meat treatment using a shock wave caused by an explosive discharge: U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,766; U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,403; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,056. Each of the above-listed patents and patent applications is entirely incorporated herein by reference.
The explosive process for meat treatment, called the Hydrodyne System, has received much attention with respect to its ability to tenderize tough cuts of meat in an effective and efficient manner without degradating the quality of the meat as occurs with chemical tenderizer, as well as its potential to kill bacteria and increase public health. Since the meat is already sealed in plastic when exposed to the explosion's shock wave, the effect is somewhat like pasteurization.
In addition, the process is rapid. Meat is tenderized in seconds instead of weeks.
The above-listed patents and certain pending applications describe embodiments in which the meat is first lined along the bottom of a water-filled, hemispherical stainless steel explosion-containing chamber called a "processor tank" or "hemishell", how an explosion is created at the center point, how the explosive force pushing down the stainless steel processor tank is absorbed, how the energy of the plume of water and steam rushing upward after the explosion is deflected or absorbed by a shield, and so on. The above-listed patents are directed mainly to the particular structures and methods used in one cycle of explosive tenderizing.
However, they do not adequately address the speed of the operation, which is important in commercial applications of explosive meat treatment. The explosion itself is of course very brief, but long periods of time have been needed to load the processor tank with meat, fill it with water, clear the area of personnel prior to a chemically detonated explosion, remove the meat, and refill the processor tank with water after the explosion.
In addition, it has been found that complete replacement of the water is preferable, and this has not been addressed. The reason why the water should be changed is that the preferred chemical explosives are molecular explosives, which are deficient in oxygen. Due to this oxygen deficiency, the oxygen which is freed during the explosion combines with hydrogen and nitrogen in preference to carbon, and carbon soot is left behind in the water as an explosion by-product. This soot will accumulate, gradually darkening any water which is re-used. In addition, traces of HCN are left behind in the water. Though the HCN is so dilute as to present no health risk, and there is no need to see into the water, it is preferable in order to alleviate any public concerns for fresh or cleaned water to be used after only one or a few explosions, in which case the water is desirably completely changed periodically. This problem has not previously been addressed, nor has the problem of doing so quickly.